FVN Chapter 190: Sister
Chapter 190: Sister
chapter 190: sister
the frozen tension among the women.
only kraush was quietly staring at rona imblaze.
the magical tool artisan, rona imblaze.
though she is now called a madwoman, the magical tools she would later create would become so invaluable that they couldn’t be bought, no matter the price.
‘if i could bring rona imblaze into the skyborne generation.’
with magical tools in their possession, the skyborne generation would undoubtedly gain unprecedented power.
the problem is now.
the issue is that she made an explosive remark.
「there is currently someone at rahern academy who has made a pact with a world eroder.」
ordinarily, this would be dismissed as nonsense.
however, there was a recent incident that had stirred up rahern academy.
it involved none other than associate professor of magic studies, jenikallen, who had become a servant of a world eroder and kidnapped three noble students.
although the incident itself revealed the despicable acts committed by the noble students, greatly elevating felray’s reputation, the fact that jenikallen had become a servant of a world eroder was something that could not be ignored.
this incident occurred not long ago.
in such a situation, when lona made this statement, it was no surprise that everyone froze.
“......are you serious, rona imblaze?”
in the now-silent meeting hall, one person broke the silence and spoke.
her name was mirei beakis, with transparent eyes beneath her blue hair.
she was the youngest cardinal in the history of the freeman kingdom.
facing her, rona suddenly unbuttoned her shirt.
at the moment everyone expressed confusion at her sudden action, she revealed the necklace resting in her cleavage.
the necklace was in the shape of a small sword brooch.
plucking the sword-shaped brooch from her necklace with her fingers, rona imblaze grinned widely, as if her smile was tearing her lips apart.
“recently, there was that incident at the academy, wasn’t there? so, i made something. a magical tool to detect world eroders hiding among people.”
“is that true?”
at her words, everyone showed astonished expressions.
no one could have imagined that rona had created something like that.
if rona’s claim was true, her invention would be able to uncover all servants of the world eroders, those who could be called traitors to the world.
it was a groundbreaking invention.
kraush’s gaze shifted to the side.
there stood taria vales, the top student of the department of magical studies, observing the situation with her arms crossed.
she was a servant of the crimson garden.
if the magical tool were used here and now, her identity would immediately be exposed.
“oh? so, have you discovered a servant of a world eroder with that?”
even eiring ornoa, the second-ranking student in the literature department’s first-generation class, showed interest in the magical tool.
amid the stares that gathered in an instant, rona lightly twirled the magical tool in her hand before releasing it.
the tool naturally settled back into the cleavage where it had previously rested.
“well, the one exposed would know best.”
with a subtle smile, rona propped her chin on her hand and surveyed the hall.
her gesture, combined with the words “the one exposed,” implied that there was a servant of a world eroder in this very room.
the members of the women’s association began sneaking glances at one another.
everyone had understood the implication of rona’s actions.
as suspicions began to bloom in each person’s mind,
“well, then, i would like you to quickly use that magical tool to reveal the servant of the world eroder.”
cardinal mirei’s transparent eyes glinted.
at her urging, rona tilted her head while still propping her chin on her hand.
“that wouldn’t be any fun. i think it’s still too early to showcase the superiority of my magical tool.”
as if to confirm why she was often called a madwoman, her declaration that she wouldn’t immediately expose the servant left the people in the hall dumbfounded.
before anyone realized, the accusations shifted from suspicion of one another to blaming rona for not revealing the servant’s identity immediately.
yet, even under the sharp, critical gazes, rona remained unbothered.
the atmosphere in the hall had soured in an instant.
only kraush was calmly observing the situation.
‘things are getting ridiculous.’
amid this chaotic situation, kraush began deducing a few potential suspects.
it wasn’t something others would likely notice, but as a regressor, kraush could pick up on subtle details that others missed.
however, there was no certainty.
servants of the crimson garden were relatively easy to identify.
in fact, the crimson garden intentionally made their servants conspicuous, as if to warn other world eroders: this one belongs to me. touch them, and you’ll pay the price.
the black witch, on the other hand, deliberately created servants to infiltrate rahern academy.
as such, even kraush found it difficult to discern their identities.
“a servant of a world eroder.”
she simply granted his requests.
no matter what they were, she did so without asking for anything in return.
‘so that’s how it is.’
at that moment, kraush felt one of the tinted lenses through which he viewed the world shatter.
he came to understand how he had been seeing charlotte all this time.
even after regressing, the lens of prejudice he had worn was so deeply and stubbornly dyed black that he hadn’t been able to see her clearly.
‘i see... i’ve been doing this too.’
from the moment he was born, kraush had lived in constant comparison to charlotte.
charlotte was a genius, from the very day she was born.
perhaps that was why, at the time, he could only see her as charlotte valheim, the sword saint, the world’s greatest genius—not as his sister.
he interpreted and judged every facet of her actions based on that image he had constructed.
he had separated family and blood ties from his perception of her.
he hadn’t been able to help it.
even though he admitted he was only a half-wit, deep down, he envied and resented charlotte intensely.
she shone so brightly that pride was an emotion he could never associate with her.
the light she radiated was so blinding that he couldn’t bear to look at it directly.
in a way, his decision to separate charlotte valheim, his older sister, from charlotte valheim, the sword saint, was a form of self-defense.
but today, at this very moment.
kraush finally understood the meaning behind charlotte’s actions toward him all this time.
charlotte had always seen kraush as her younger brother.
that remained true, even before his regression.
to her, kraush was family.
her beloved little brother.
the one who had pushed that away was always kraush himself.
‘i have no right to condemn velokin.’
he had been the one to cast aside the only person who had remained as family.
for some reason, a bitter laugh escaped his lips.
he found himself disgusted with his inability to see charlotte as his sister, and he felt deeply apologetic toward her.
the realization that it took him regressing to understand this truth filled him with self-loathing.
before his regression, kraush had never treated his sister as his actual sister.
he remembered the moment of her death vividly—after a desperate battle with the sword sovereign.
charlotte had finally defeated the sword sovereign, but at the cost of her own life, collapsing as her strength was utterly spent.
at the time, even the skyborne generation had no answer to dealing with the sword sovereign, retreating in defeat.
yet, in front of kraush, charlotte had stood tall, her valheim family cloak billowing behind her.
「kraush, watch closely.」
her sword always shone proudly toward the sky.
「this is who your sister, charlotte valheim, truly is.」
and as always, her unique smile graced her lips.
countless words he should have said to her filled his mind, words he couldn’t bring himself to utter at that moment.
“ha.”
now, he knew those words could never reach her.
that world no longer existed.
regret, coming too late, is a cruel thing.
it leaves a person tormented, unable to make amends for the mistakes of the past.
kraush’s gaze shifted to charlotte once more.
her dark blue hair, the same as his own, fluttered in the breeze—the very symbol of the valheim family.
in the light of the setting sun, charlotte’s eyes met his.
in her gaze there was a warmth, an affection that kraush had never noticed before.
he had always thought her eyes were cold.
but now, as he saw that warmth, he smiled.
“next time, i’ll be the one to ask you on a date.”
charlotte let out a soft laugh at his words.
she had always regarded him as her little brother, after all.
turning away with her usual calm demeanor, she said.
“alright. i’ll be looking forward to it.”
her footsteps as she walked away were noticeably lighter than before, a telltale sign of her good mood.
kraush watched her retreating figure silently, his gaze eventually lifting to the sky.
where there is a setting sun, there is always a rising one as well.
just as a lost world fades away, a new one will come.
kraush carried the memories of the old world as he continued to live in this new one.
translators note: